The steel-hulled fishing boat DNa 90777 TS, owned by 39-year-old fisherman Tran Van Muoi from Son Tra District’s Man Thai Ward, was launched on Thursday.

This is the first steel-hulled fishing boat to be built in Da Nang under Government Decree No 67/2014/ND-CP regarding fisheries development policies which allows Vietnamese fishermen to access loans for building new boats.

The 822CV, 30.8m-long, 7.5m-wide and 3.9m-high boat can operate at a top speed of 10 nautical miles per hour.  In addition, it features a total of 221.3m³ of frozen storage and a 27.4m³ freshwater storage tank.

Steel-hulled fishing boat DNa 90777 TS

The new boat was built at a cost of 18.4 billion VND.  Of this, 17.3 billion VND was loaned from a credit package from the city’s branch of the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), whilst the remainder came from Mr Muoi’s family. 

Tran Van Muoi said, “My boat will operate in the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa waters catching squid and large fish by drag netting.  The maximum length for an offshore trip will be 30 days.  Thanks to the new boat, I and the other fishermen on board will no longer be afraid of strong winds and high waves at sea, and no longer scared of being threatened by foreign vessels”.  Mr Muoi added, “The modern boat features 2 frozen storage areas to keep the catches in good condition, along with a cold storage area and a storage tank for fresh water to wash the catches in accordance with Japanese technology.  This will help to ensure the absolute top quality of the catches”.

Addressing the launching ceremony, the Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Nguyen Do Tam, said “Government Decree No 67 has helped Vietnamese fishermen raise their incomes as well as join efforts to firmly safeguard the country's sovereignty over its sea and islands”.  Mr Tam added “Over the past year, the local authorities have created very favourable conditions for local fishermen to enjoy benefits from the decree.  I hope the newly-built ship will operate effectively in order to create extra motivation for other local fishermen”.

Owner Muoi pledged to make every effort to operate the boat effectively and pay off his debt to the bank on time.  He revealed that his boat would make its first offshore trip after the 15^th day of the 2^nd lunar month with 20 crew members on board.